


Kingdoms of Glass

by Lockea



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Creative License, Fluff and Angst, Forced Pregnancy, Hojo is His Own Warning, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kid Fic, M/M, Mpreg, Muteness, Self-Esteem Issues, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-27
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-07-10 10:53:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6981418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lockea/pseuds/Lockea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Hojo is unexpectedly killed by one of his lab experiments, the Turks are sent to prepare the labs for a new head of science by clearing out most of Hojo’s old experiments. Certain circumstances come to light when the Turks reveal that one of Hojo’s experiments is a pregnant omega and its young pup, and that the father of both children is in fact Sephiroth himself. Though ill prepared to start a family, Sephiroth vows to be a better father than his own by taking in the omega and raising the children himself. He never expected to fall in love along the way, let alone in a love that would drive him to tear ShinRa down brick by brick if it meant keeping Cloud safe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been hopped up on sedatives and mostly bedridden for almost a week now. A week during which I've been reading a lot of ABO/Kidfic/Hurt/Comfort. So during those moments when I'm awake and don't feel like reading I've been working on two fics -- this one, and a Zack/Cloud fic where I'm basically as mean as I possibly can be to the two of them. Because reasons. 
> 
> I'm still on hiatus, but the end is in sight! I was offered a job last month conditional on getting a Top Secret security clearance, which I'm pretty confident I'll get. I've been told that if I find out that there ARE actually aliens at Area 51, I'm to report back to my friends immediately. I'll let you guys know too. Also I have to not point a death ray at the school without giving my coworkers at the school proper warning. :D So once that comes in and I'm no longer working my crazy current job I'll see about getting a predictable update routine set up. In the meantime, you're stuck with what basically amounts to drugged up brain vomit.
> 
> I'm not sorry. 
> 
> Lastly, if you're thinking "man, I could dig some fluffy kid fic right about now" may I point you in [Magic Rat's direction](http://www.winter-wood.net/ex-libris/finalfantasy/rabidtigerau/rabidtigerindex.html). Her Rabid Tiger AU is hilarious and self-indulgent but it has probably one of my favorite reasons for mpreg to happen ever -- Sephiroth, being crazy pants, misinterprets Zack's jokes about having kids as literal and _wills_ himself to get pregnant. It's crack, but the art is pretty.
> 
> This fic will probably turn fluffy eventually, but mostly it's hurt right now.

The news of Professor Hojo’s untimely demise reached Sephiroth while he was in Wutai discussing terms of surrender. He and Genesis were on their way back to camp when a Turk – the redheaded woman, Cissnei – met them on the perimeter, carrying a missive from the President himself. Sephiroth had always hoped he’d feel something – satisfaction, perhaps – at the news of Hojo’s death but instead all he felt was regret that he hadn’t been the one to do the dead. Instead, it had been one of his other specimens, perhaps one who was balking at the confines of the science department.

“Is that all?” He asked the Turk, determined to return and change into something more comfortable before going a round with Genesis. They both were pent up and annoyed with the diplomacy of their mission, longing instead for the straight forward attitude of war. Still, peace was welcome after all they’d lost.

Cissnei shook her head. “The Turks are clearing out the science department for the new head to take his place. We’ve found some… surprising… experiments that Hojo failed to disclose to the President.”

“That in and of itself is not surprising.” Sephiroth pointed out. He swept past the woman, who trailed after him towards his tent. Genesis had already departed, seeing as he had little to no interest in Hojo’s affairs. Even after Hollander’s untimely death Angeal and Genesis had little interaction with Hojo, as content to ignore the scientist as he was them. “I fail to see how any of this involves me.”

Cissnei pulled a photograph from her back pocket and passed it to Sephiroth. A child, perhaps no more than four years of age, stared up from the photograph, solemn and stoic. Green eyes were slit pupiled beneath a halo of silver white hair. Had the date not been fairly recent, Sephiroth would have sworn he was looking at a picture of himself. Cissnei said, “She doesn’t have a name, just an ID number. Hojo’s notes about her are sparse and we’re still trying to recover all the details but there is one thing we’ve learned through a DNA test.” She paused and just when Sephiroth was about to order her to say whatever she was holding back, Cissnei said, “Congratulations, General, you have a daughter.”

For a moment there was nothing – no emotions, no outrage, no disbelief. He shouldn’t have put it past Hojo, should have known something like this would happen. How many times had Sephiroth been put under while in Hojo’s presence for the man to collect biological material from him?

“The mother?” Sephiroth asked.

Cissnei produced a second photo. This one was several years old and the child in the picture made Sephiroth want to be sick. The child was unconscious, eyes closed and golden blond hair matted and tangled around his face. There were old bruises around his neck and across pale skin, and a neat row of stitches across his neck. Sephiroth recognized the marks from a surgery Hojo was particularly fond of performing, one which Sephiroth had been saved from if only because he was destined to be a warrior and warriors needed voices. It spoke volumes about this specimen’s worth that his voice had been stolen so cruelly. He was intended to be bred and for that he didn’t need a voice.

“We don’t have a name on him either.” Cissnei said. “Male, omega, somewhere in his mid to late teens currently. Likely he was impregnated the first time during or shortly after his first heat.”

“The first time?” Sephiroth asked, not sure if he wanted the answer.

“He’s currently pregnant. Again, Hojo left little in the way of notes on him but we surmise that the child is also, likely, yours.”

Were Sephiroth a more emotional man he’d likely have snapped at Cissnei, let out his frustration by tearing up the picture. As it was he nodded to the woman and tucked both photos in his jacket pocket. “Thank you for telling me. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

The woman nodded and took off, disappearing into the shadows from which she’d emerged. Now Sephiroth really needed a go with Genesis. Hojo was dead and he was still fucking with Sephiroth’s life. Still, the course of action was obvious to him. Hojo had been a piss-poor father and Sephiroth would not trust him to have done any better raising his grandchildren. Until he’d met Angeal and Genesis, Sephiroth had assumed all families were as dysfunctional as his, but Gillian Hewley was a kind and loving woman and there was no doubt the Rhapsodos’s doted on their only son. It wasn’t ideal, and perhaps Sephiroth was not the best candidate for parenthood, but he refused to be his father. If nothing else, Sephiroth would make sure they were loved, if not by him than by someone. They would not suffer as he had.

Sephiroth was perhaps more aggressive than usual during his spar with Genesis, not that his rival minded the least, but afterwards when they’d both calmed down and sat a careful distance apart at the top of the camp watchtower, the general found himself explaining everything to his second in command. Genesis listened without his usual acerbic comments as Sephiroth explained the child and the omega, ending before he could reveal the tumultuous thoughts in his head. He didn’t need to tell Genesis that he was sure he’d be a terrible parent.

“Talk about terrible timing.” Genesis remarked. “The Goddess, though infinite in wisdom, is mysterious.” Sephiroth rolled his eyes at yet another quote from Loveless. Then, Genesis said, “I’m pregnant.”

Sephiroth squashed down the little thread of hurt in him that Genesis had waited until now to tell him – had dared to engage Sephiroth in battle when he was carrying a precious life inside of him. He could have hurt the man; how could Genesis be so reckless! Instead, Sephiroth aimed for supportive. It had to have taken a lot for the man to admit to any weakness. Genesis was on suppressants, hiding the fact that he was an omega because omegas could not be SOLDIERs. Had it not been for Hollander and Project G, Genesis would have been relegated to a life back in Banora waiting to marry and have children. SOLDIER gave him freedom Genesis craved.

“Have you told Angeal?” Sephiroth asked.

Genesis shook his head. “I just found out a few days ago. I was going to announce my retirement and my pregnancy at the same time just to see the look on everyone’s faces – I’d show them what an omega can do. With the war ending, now seems like as a good a time as any.”

Sephiroth shook his head. Typical Genesis. “So this one you’re keeping?” He hadn’t kept the last one – an accident in the middle of the war a few years back. It just wasn’t feasible. Sephiroth had needed both Angeal and Genesis on the battlefield and Genesis hadn’t wanted the child anyway.

“Yes. You may not have noticed but it broke Angeal’s heart when I gave up the last one. This one’s for him.” Genesis rolled his shoulders and looked at Sephiroth. “I’m telling you now not to usurp your own troubles but to let you know you don’t have to face this alone. I’ll keep my child if you keep yours. You never really know how precious they are until you’re making the choice to give them up.”

“I plan to keep them both, if I can.” Sephiroth replied. Then, in one of his much rarer moments of honesty he added, “Don’t retire, Genesis. Take all the time you need for your child, but we can’t afford to lose someone as talented as you in SOLDIER.”

He jumped off the watch tower so he didn’t have to hear Genesis’s reply. Knowing the man as long as Sephiroth had, he knew it would be something scathing about Sephiroth’s sentimental side.

*~*~*

Cloud woke up feeling groggy and dazed, like he normally did after one of the professor’s sessions. He tried to lift his hand to his aching head but was unsurprised to realize that his arms had been restrained to the bed. What did surprise him was that he was actually in a bed and not on a steel cold operating table. Likewise, the restraints were soft and supple, not hard manacles like he was used to, and there was a blanket covering him. He hadn’t been stripped of his shift either, and attention had been paid to his decency, something that Cloud couldn’t remember ever happening.

The room was unfamiliar – a pale cream color instead of stark white and metal gray. Sunlight filtered in through a nearby window and Cloud wondered idly when the last time he’d seen the sun was. Sometime before this nightmare began, he was sure. There was an IV in the back of his hand, and whatever they were dripping into his veins was keeping him from panicking because Cloud felt peaceful, confused and lightheaded, but not anxious.

He should be panicking. Where was Sarah? A quick glance around the room showed the little girl was nowhere in sight. They’d taken her again and each time Cloud feared it would be the last time he’d see her. The professor wouldn’t kill her – or so Cloud prayed. He mumbled that she was part of his plan to find the Promised Land since her father had been so monumental a failure at that.

Cloud didn’t know a thing about Sarah’s father. One day he’d been walking home from school after the bullies had picked on him again and the next he’d been strapped to a table writhing with the pain of his first heat, a heat he hadn’t even been able to satisfy by touching himself. No, instead the professor had inseminated him and when the heat faded Cloud had known. He was barely thirteen and pregnant.

His first pregnancy had been painful – his body may have thought it reached sexual maturity but it had not. He’d been too small and his mind hadn’t been ready for it. He’d spent so much of that first pregnancy in denial and praying he would be allowed to go home. He hadn’t even had the chance to hold Sarah after she was born. Instead she’d been ripped from him and he’d been left chained to an operating table as the professor ignored him. He’d delivered the afterbirth and passed out on that table, wanting to reach out and hold his screaming child. It’d been several days – Cloud wasn’t sure how many – before she was deposited into his arms in their cell and he could feed her for the first time.

Breastfeeding acted as a sort of natural birth control, keeping him from entering heat again. So he’d breastfed for as long as he possibly could before the professor realized what he was doing and took Sarah away again. Sure enough, within a few weeks he reentered heat and the professor had inseminated him again. That child had not made it to term and Cloud couldn’t help but blame himself for that. If only he’d been stronger, a better omega, he wouldn’t have lost the child. The professor waited a year after that, though Cloud hadn’t known why. He still spent every heat chained to a cold steel table unable to relieve the pain in his body. In that haze of pain and fever he’d been unable to tell what happened to his body, but then he’d woken up pregnant again.

As much as Cloud hated his circumstances and wouldn’t wish poor Sarah’s circumstances on anyone, he still prayed this child would make it. Just like he prayed someone, anyone, would come rescue him. Fat chance of that. He’d already been the pariah of Nibelheim, and then he’d presented as an omega. No one cared what happened to omegas, especially willful, headstrong ones like Cloud. Hopefully his mother had found some closure, able to move on after the disappearance of her only son.

The door on the far side of the room slid open and a doctor – not the professor – stepped into the room. She was an older woman with graying hair and the unmistakable scent of alpha on her. Cloud found himself shrinking back against the bed, wishing he could bring his arms up to protect his vulnerable belly. Strangers in close proximity to him always seemed to spell trouble, and there was still no sign of Sarah.

The alpha approached the bedside and wrote down Cloud’s vitals on her clipboard before turning to Cloud with a soft smile – the genuine kind, not the professor’s unnervingly creepy one. “Good morning. You’ve been asleep for just over thirteen hours. Do you remember anything that happened before we knocked you out?” Cloud shook his head. The doctor reached out to smooth Cloud’s hair from his brow and he flinched away. Alpha or beta, he didn’t want anyone touching him. “We were clearing out the science department when we found you in one of the containment units. You were exhibiting high levels of stress so we decided to knock you out before extraction. Your daughter was quite distressed to see her mama in such a state, but she’ll be pleased to know you’re awake again. I’ll have the SOLDIERs bring her over once my exam in finished.”

Sarah was safe? Oh thank the planet! Cloud didn’t really know whether to believe they’d actually let him see her, but as long as she was safe then he’d cooperate in hopes of seeing her again. The doctor pulled back the covers on the bed and very gently pressed her hands against Cloud’s swollen belly. The child hadn’t been terribly active lately, something that worried Cloud, but the doctor just smiled as if sensing Cloud’s fears and said, “We did an ultrasound while you were asleep. Seems you’re going to have a healthy baby girl. You’re going to have your hands full with two girls around.”

A girl – another one. Cloud blinked back tears. He wouldn’t be allowed to name this one, probably, just like he hadn’t been allowed to name Sarah, but in his mind he thought about what he wanted to call her. Sarah was his mother’s name. So maybe Jane? That was Tifa’s mother’s name. He didn’t have to decide today. He was just happy knowing more about the precious life in his belly.

“All right, everything feels good.” The doctor said, recovering Cloud. “Now, I’m going to release the restraints on your arms and legs. Promise me you aren’t going to try anything. I don’t want you to stand up or get out of bed, and if you attack me then the SOLDIERs out in the hall are going to come in and restrain you to the bed and I’m going to put a feeding tube down your throat. If you behave and do what I say we can give you food to eat. Promise me?”

Cloud nodded. He wasn’t going to fight anyway. He couldn’t escape and she was promising him more freedom than he normally got when he was outside his cell. She made quick work of his restraints and even helped him move so that he was propped up on the bed, extra pillows under his back for support. Then she walked back to the door, opening it to speak to someone in the hallway and a man – alpha – stepped into the room, Sarah cradled in his arms with her thumb in her mouth as she stared wide eyed over her shoulder at Cloud.

For a second Cloud panicked. If the professor saw Sarah with her thumb in her mouth he’d be displeased and possibly take it out on her. Cloud reached out for her and the man stepped over towards his bed, smiling gently at him. “Who’s this?” The man asked Sarah, bouncing her gently. Cloud wanted to cry, the alpha was holding Sarah like she was any child, smiling at her indulgently like Cloud had so often wished for her. He was tall and broad shouldered with chin length black hair and warm eyes, dressed in a black uniform that Cloud knew was associated with SOLDIER Firsts.

Sarah stared at Cloud solemnly for a moment. She was such a quiet child that Cloud didn’t expect her to say anything at all. Then she removed her thumb from her mouth and said, quite clearly, “It’s my mama.”

Tears overflowed. Cloud would blame it on hormones from his pregnancy making him emotional, but he knew the truth was it felt like witnessing a miracle. The professor always called Cloud by his specimen name, or stupid omega, or worse yet, Breeder. Sarah’s language was stunted but she had learned from the professor how to address Cloud. It hurt, having your own child call you Breeder when you couldn’t say anything to correct the language. She didn’t know it was wrong – she thought that was how you called your mother – but Cloud had never been able to tell her differently. The professor had encouraged Sarah’s behavior, drawing a divide between mother and child, a divide that Cloud could feel closing as the SOLDIER set Sarah on the edge of the bed and the little girl crawled up into Cloud’s waiting arms.

“’Geal said I should call you mama and make you happy.” Sarah was saying with a scowl at the SOLDIER. “He was lying.”

Cloud shook his head and kissed Sarah’s cheeks, trying to brush back tears so Sarah wouldn’t get the wrong idea. Cloud was so happy, so deliriously happy that they could take him back to the professor and he’d still be happy for at least a week.

The SOLDIER said, “Your mother is happy, little one. Sometimes people become so happy they cry.”

Sometime during the exchange the doctor had left the room, because when Cloud looked up from where he was holding Sarah tight against his chest he could see the SOLDIER had taken a seat and the doctor was nowhere to be seen. Cloud didn’t care so long as he could keep holding Sarah. He glanced over at the SOLDIER and managed a small, watery smile.

The SOLDIER smiled back at him, dark eyes soft as he regarded Cloud and Sarah. He held out his hand for Cloud to take, surprising Cloud. That was something people did with equals, and there was nothing equal between a SOLDIER First and a worthless omega like Cloud. Still, he took the hand and if his handshake was a little weak the SOLDIER didn’t comment on it. “My name’s Angeal Hewley. I was asked to handle your case on behalf of Tseng of the Turks and General Sephiroth. Sephiroth is in Wutai right now negotiating a treaty but he’ll be returning within the week. He’s looking forward to meeting you.”

Sephiroth? The General Sephiroth? Cloud had idolized the man as a child – looked up to him before he’d presented back when Cloud was so sure he had to be an alpha or a beta, because he was too willful to be an omega. Cloud stared at Angeal in disbelief. There was no way Sephiroth was looking forward to meeting a nobody like him.

Angeal chuckled, clearly reading the disbelief in Cloud’s expression. “Hojo didn’t make many notes on you, just enough for us to know your kidnapping and impregnation were done without the President’s consent or knowledge. We’d have never found you had the Turks not insisted on a thorough sweep of the science department. We have no information on you, no idea where you come from or if you have family to return home to. The Turks are cooking up the official story as we speak, but it sounds like they’re going with a traditionalist angle – not too uncommon even in Midgar for omegas as young as you to be sold off into marriage. Your older daughter’s story will be that she’s adopted, the result of an affair and youthful indiscretion. The younger one’s yours though. We don’t know how old you are but we can pass you off for being of legal age if you don’t remember. Consensual romance, loving father, happy union if you want it. Or if you want your life back we can pass you off as having died in childbirth – grieve for a while and then set you up with a new identity wherever you want. Sephiroth wants the children so they’re going to have a good life no matter what you choose.”

It was too much. Cloud shrank back against the pillows, holding Sarah against his chest even as he shook his head vehemently. Too long he’d been afraid of losing her – he wasn’t going to give her up without a fight, even if (oh planet) he had to fight General Sephiroth for his daughters. The Demon of Wutai was the father? How could Cloud have been so blind? He could see it in Sarah’s green eyes and pale hair – features she most assuredly did not get from the Strife side of the family.

Angeal raised his hands, placating. “All right, stay calm. Nobody is going to take your children away from you. Hojo is dead and Sephiroth has laid claim to you. Nobody is ever going to hurt you again.”

Cloud stared at him, wishing he could believe that. There was something about Angeal’s openness, his honesty, that made Cloud want to believe everything would be all right. But how in the world could anything be right anymore? He’d lost too much along the way.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sephiroth learns more about Cloud, Sarah finally meets her daddy, and ShinRa tries to cover its mistakes by giving Cloud a new identity and an impossible choice to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my reviewers asked if Cloud would be regaining his voice. No, sorry guys. It is one of my pet peeves, as a disabled person, when disabilities are used For The Tragedies and then conveniently done away with (my personal favorite (?) example of this being Iron Man's Amazingly Convenient PTSD). So nope. Cloud's gonna have to work through learning to adapt to his disability and interact with the world in a different way. Don't worry though, he's going to be his usual badass self about it. :D
> 
> This is the chapter that never wanted to end. It's over 5,000 words long, making it about 2,000 words longer than I wanted it to be. I'm aiming for shorter chapters to see if I can do something like a biweekly/weekly update schedule since, while I love my long chapters, they drain me and I tend to get stuck on scenes and leave them alone for weeks at a time. I make no promises about update schedules. You guys all know what a flake I am, so I'm chuffed you're still with me.
> 
> Lastly, if you're playing Kingdom Hearts Unchained X and you want a party, you are WAY more than welcome to send me your player ID and join our party. Right now it's mainly my sister, her boyfriend, myself, and someone I accidentally added who doesn't talk to us but we like him anyway. Benefits of playing with us -- Kitta and her boyfriend have a weird competition going on so they're both super high leveled and have strong medals, and I'm not doing too shabby myself. Newbie or expert, you're more than welcome to join the party!

Sephiroth’s PHS buzzed with a message from Tseng.

_His name is Cloud Strife. Seventeen years old from Nibelheim. Presumed dead almost five years ago. Has one parent, omega, named Sarah Strife._

A few hours later another message, this one from Angeal.

_Cloud says your daughter’s name is Sarah. He’s not sure what he wants to name the second child. I’d ask you for suggestions but I think Cloud’s already having enough trouble accepting that there’s going to be an alpha in his children’s lives._

Sephiroth frowned at the message. He should have thought about the mother not agreeing with him. He’d just assumed the mother wouldn’t want the children and Sephiroth was the only one who’d wanted them. Now it seemed this omega – Cloud – not only wanted the children but didn’t want Sephiroth around. This was getting complicated and Sephiroth hadn’t even met them yet.

Genesis smirked at him from across the transport whenever Sephiroth checked his messages. Likely the fiery redhead knew as much if not more about the situation than Sephiroth did. Angeal probably told him everything, which struck Sephiroth as ironic because Genesis had yet to tell Angeal he was pregnant. The alpha was going to be pissed at his mate for going to Wutai when he knew about the pregnancy – doubly so since Genesis had not revealed that fact to Angeal. Angeal could be obnoxiously overprotective when it came to Genesis.

Just before they reached Midgar he got another message, this one from Tseng again.

_Cover is complete. See attached._

The attachment was brief, an encrypted text file containing details about the story ShinRa had concocted to cover up the mess that would be made if anyone found out that Hojo had kidnapped a thirteen-year-old omega and proceeded to brutalize and impregnate him over the course of four and half years. The story, likewise, was simple and brief. Sarah Alcott was the daughter of Maria Alcott, a beta who lived in the slums. It’d been a star-crossed romance and Maria had never agreed to a life in the limelight. After her untimely death, Sephiroth and his young mate, Cloud Bennett, agreed to take in the little girl. Cloud, of course, had married Sephiroth after an arrangement with the Bennett family. Cloud was a proper omega, raised to be demure and shy and kept strictly out of public attention, hence the private ceremony and lack of fanfare around the pregnancy. They would, of course, keep with the story by not revealing either the pregnancy or the adoption. The story, then, would be in case anyone asked questions.

They were still waiting on Cloud to decide if he would “die” in childbirth or not.

All in all, it wasn’t a bad cover. Scarlet Bennett’s family was a powerful one indeed, but out of respect for the alpha’s career with ShinRa would play along with the story, perhaps even contributing to the family a proper dowry as would be expected for an omega bride. Sephiroth wouldn’t push for it, since he didn’t need a dowry when he was well paid by ShinRa. Still, the only part Sephiroth hated was the idea that he’d be legally related to Scarlet. The woman drove him mad. She was like Hojo – genius, perhaps, but still a walking mass of complexes.

The transport pulled in to sector zero nearing midnight with very little in the way of fanfare. Sephiroth was surprised to see Angeal and his student Zack waiting in front of the barracks. The SOLDIERs that had accompanied Genesis and Sephiroth on their diplomatic mission were exhausted by the time change and just ready to sleep, so they paid little attention to their surroundings. Still, there were more than a few curious glances at the bundle Angeal held against his chest, the blanket around a small body doing nothing to hide the halo of white hair.

Sephiroth expected to feel something approaching his daughter for the first time, but all he felt was surprise at how small the child was, and surprise at his own lack of reaction. For the first time since learning of her existence Sephiroth doubted his ability to truly love his daughter. There was no moment of connection like in stories, nothing at all like what Angeal and Genesis described their relationship to be like. Genesis had seemed so sure when he spoke of his child that he would love them no matter what from the moment they were born. Perhaps that was the mother’s bond, but even Angeal, who was not biologically related to Sephiroth’s daughter, seemed to adore the sleeping child in his arms.

“She was so excited to learn she had a father.” Angeal told Sephiroth, keeping his voice low. “She wanted to see you for herself, but of course she wore herself out.”

Sephiroth nodded in acknowledgment, staring at the child. It was… odd… to say the least, seeing his own features in another living being, especially when he’d always been so singularly unique in appearance.

Angeal, as if sensing his hesitance, held the child out to Sephiroth. “You should hold her.” He said. “She probably won’t wake up but you’ve already missed out on four years of her life.”

A part of Sephiroth hoped holding her would change his emotions, while the rest of him dismissed that as foolishness out of hand. Still, he accepted her gingerly, trying to mimic the hold that Angeal had used. The girl barely even stirred but pressed closer to Sephiroth’s neck and the scent glands there, the ones that probably identified him as father even over the undercurrent of concern (he would _not_ call it fear) that he was doing something wrong.

Genesis had watched the whole exchange in silent amusement, perhaps elated to see his rival fail at something after so much perfection for so long. Sephiroth wasn’t one for slip ups, but he had to admit he was flying blind where the child was concerned. “Come now, you’re not going to hurt her.” Genesis teased, but there was softness there, instead of his usual casual cruelty. He turned his attention on his mate, Angeal. “And you, are you sure you’re not an omega?” Genesis pressed up against the alpha, stretching up to kiss Angeal before kissing the glands in his neck in a way that made Angeal growl.

“How ‘bout I show you what I am?” Angeal growled in Genesis’s ear, pulling the omega closer, all alpha dominance and posture. Behind him, Zack rolled his eyes.

It was, in a logical sort of way, funny to watch Angeal handle a child so carefully one moment only to grab his mate in a claiming kiss in the next. As it was, Sephiroth was dealing with a rush of unexpected emotion. Not love, like he’d initially hoped, but terror at the thought of possibly bringing harm upon such a small creature as the one in his arms. What if he dropped her? What if he crushed her? What if she woke up and started crying because he wasn’t what she expected?

Zack, of course, came to everyone’s rescue just then. “C’mon, save it for the bedroom. I’m sure the welcome home sex will be fantastic. Now if you don’t mind we should probably take Sarah back to her mom because I highly doubt Cloud’s gotten any sleep since we took her this evening.”

At the mention of the omega, Genesis pulled away from Angeal but still looked faintly smug instead of chagrinned. Angeal at least looked suitably chastised but he still locked his arm around Genesis’s waist as he led the way back into ShinRa Tower. Sephiroth trailed after them, only half paying attention to his surroundings in lieu of memorizing his daughter’s face. Angeal led the way to the SOLDIER’s infirmary, on the floor just below the science department, brushing past the secretary who waved hello at them and who practically melted at the sight of Sephiroth holding Sarah. Thankfully, she didn’t say anything, not that it stopped Sephiroth from glaring at her.

Past triage were the private medical rooms, separated from the hallway by a one-way mirror that allowed Sephiroth his first look at the omega who had borne Sarah. Sephiroth paused in front of the mirror, observing. The old picture had done little justice to the person the omega – Cloud, he reminded himself – had become. Long tangled blond hair was swept back in a low ponytail, revealing a round face that was far too thin, hollow eyes regarded the book in his lap but it hardly looked like he was actually reading it. Despite his obviously pregnant state the omega was ridiculously thin, arms practically skeletal around sinewy, atrophied muscles. Sephiroth remained at the window, holding on to Sarah as Angeal stepped into the room. Cloud’s expression remained carefully blank as he lowered his book, looking around Angeal as if waiting to see someone behind him. Sarah, Sephiroth realized belatedly, and he stepped up behind Angeal.

Cloud’s eyes grew wide as he took in Sephiroth standing in the doorway holding his – their – daughter. His blue eyes were almost mako bright but they refused to meet Sephiroth’s eyes, instead staring determinedly at where his hands were wrapped up in his bedsheets, head ducked against his chest. It was a painfully shy pose, one that spoke of low self-esteem. No one who had withstood Hojo’s treatment and lived to tell the tale deserved to look so miserable, but Sephiroth was keenly aware of the scars that Hojo could leave in his wake. Scars that wouldn’t heal so easily.

It was impossible for Sephiroth to describe the emotion he felt looking at Cloud. A sense of kinship, perhaps, at another of Hojo’s victims. Anger because this was _his_ family and even though he felt nothing quite like he’d expected towards his child, he still felt fiercely determined to protect her and, by proxy, her mother as well. It was foolishness – alpha instincts at their most base – but reasonable in light of the harm that had already befallen them.

Sephiroth didn’t realize he was staring until Angeal cleared his throat meaningfully and said, “Cloud, I’d like to introduce you to General Sephiroth.” Cloud nodded in response but refused to look up, even as he carefully disengaged his hands from the blankets and reached out for Sarah.

Sephiroth found himself reluctant to let go of the sleeping girl, but that was unfair of him. The girl belonged with her mother and it wasn’t like Sephiroth was never going to see her again. He forced himself to step towards the bed, setting Sarah down gently in Cloud’s expectant arms. Their hands brushed briefly and Cloud flinched violently, pulling Sarah away from Sephiroth and making himself small against the back railing of the bed.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” Sephiroth said, keeping his voice low to avoid frightening Cloud even more. Cloud nodded but kept his head down as he worried at his lower lip. Whether he believed Sephiroth or not did little to ease his own fears.

Angeal pulled Sephiroth back to give Cloud more space and said, “Cloud hasn’t liked anyone touching him. It’s not you.”

“Likely a byproduct of Hojo’s casual cruelty towards his specimens.” Sephiroth observed numbly, and watched as Cloud flinched at the name. “The man is dead. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Angeal shook his head in exasperated disbelief. “That’s a terrible attempt at comforting someone, Seph, even for you.” He made a show of checking the clock on the wall. Just past one. “C’mon, let’s leave for the evening. Everyone needs sleep and we can talk more in the morning.”

Sephiroth considered the expected niceties of the situation, the expectation that he’d say good night to an omega he’d just met, and then considered that it probably would not have any positive effect on the situation, so he simply turned on his heel and departed the room. Angeal frowned after him and spent some time fussing like a nesting omega over Cloud and Sarah before turning out the lights and shutting the door behind him.

Genesis and Zack were waiting in the hall, an unreadable expression on Genesis’s face as he observed the room through the mirror. He barely spared a glance at them before saying, “I’m going to kill him.”

For a brief, fervent moment Sephiroth thought he was referring to Cloud. Omega rivalry was not as prominent as alpha rivalry – in fact, most omegas were highly cooperative with each other – but Genesis was hardly any omega and, besides, he was on suppressants to control base instinct.

Angeal, however, was not confused. “He’s already dead, Gen. Found on the floor of one of the containment units with his throat ripped out, remember?”

This did not deter Genesis. “I am going to get a phoenix down, bring him back to life, and murder him again. How do you justify that!” He gestured to the window, indicating the resting omega and his daughter. “He’s, what, five, six months pregnant and half starved. He looks like he hasn’t gained any of the weight he needs to carry the child and his body is eating him inside out like a damn mako addict.”

It came as a surprise to Sephiroth, seeing Genesis so impassioned about something other than Loveless for once. The commander had a tendency to be self-absorbed where nothing reached his attention, and more than once he’d decried other omegas as weak and foolish and therefore beneath his attention. This was not at all like Genesis. Then he noticed the way Genesis’s hand shook and his breaths came in short gasps. He was upset, Sephiroth realized, and scared.

What if it were Genesis in that hospital bed, underfed and pregnant? It could very well have been. After all, omegas existed to bear children and had it not been for his parent’s indulgence and Hollander’s surprisingly progressive views, Genesis would have been relegated to the role of mother. It never would have happened like it had to Cloud; Genesis’s family was wealthy and his disappearance would have been noticed, but he could still have been left on the sidelines. Not a commander in his own right, but Commander Hewley’s nameless omega mate.

No, Sephiroth couldn’t picture that. The man was too vibrant and passionate for that life, but perhaps seeing the circumstances of another omega had hit far too close to home. Angeal, far more in tune with Genesis than Sephiroth could ever hope to be, realized all this much sooner than Sephiroth. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his mate. “It’s okay Gen. C’mon, let’s all get some sleep and we’ll feel better tomorrow. Besides, if you’re really worried about Cloud you can always make him brownies or something. Bet he’d like that.”

Genesis huffed and rolled his eyes, as if he would do something so domestic. Angeal had a point, however, and Sephiroth was caught up in his own thoughts. He bid them farewell at the entrance to his apartment, resolving to meet with Angeal first thing in the morning to see about the next step.

He sighed internally at the thought. It was all so messy and complicated. Sephiroth wasn’t going to let go of his children without a fight, and it seemed Cloud wasn’t either, so their best hope would be to reach an agreement acceptable to both of them.

*~*~*

Sarah woke up before Cloud did, at some ungodly hour of the morning, and climbed down from the bed to grab out her stash of paper and crayons. They’d been a gift from Angeal, but Cloud had hidden them from the doctor, afraid the alpha would take them away. When he woke up and saw Sarah coloring contentedly on the floor he felt a moment of panic that the doctor would see, before squashing that down. He was being irrational. Nothing bad had happened for the last five days and nothing bad would happen today. Or, at least, it helped to tell himself that.

Cloud carefully slipped out of bed, wincing at the cold tile floor, and straightened the hospital gown they’d given him to replace the shapeless, billowing shift he’d worn in the labs. The gown wasn’t much better – still shapeless, still uncomfortable – but it was clean and smelled nice. Sarah was wearing a green nightdress that matched her eyes. At least she had real clothes to wear, and Cloud wouldn’t begrudge her that. He slipped down to the floor, seating himself next to Sarah so he could watch her draw. She was drawing a picture of a plant, one of Angeal’s flowers that he’d set in the window seal. That had been an interesting conversation to watch as Angeal gently and patiently explained what a plant was to a bewildered Sarah.

Sarah finished her drawing and held it up for Cloud to see. He smiled at it and kissed Sarah on the forehead to show that he loved it. He made a show of putting it in the hiding place under their bed with all of Sarah’s other drawings. He didn’t dare display them, even though he desperately wanted to. They settled together on the floor, Sarah in Cloud’s lap as she reached up to grab his hair and started playing with it, braiding it together the way he’d shown her how to and unbraiding it with clumsy, chubby fingers. He rested his chin on her head and hummed – or tried to anyway – with contentment.

He startled when the door opened behind him and he caught the scent of the alpha doctor. Instinctively he curled himself around Sarah, even though he knew there was unlikely to be any danger towards her. It was an old habit, from the days when the professor or one of his henchmen would come for Sarah and drag her out of Cloud’s arms.

“Good morning, Cloud.” The doctor greeted him. Ever since he’d written his and Sarah’s names down for the doctor and Angeal, everyone had gone out of their way to use it. It was… nice… after so long without it. Just hearing it made him feel better. “Did you sleep well? I heard General Sephiroth stopped by last night. Hopefully he didn’t wake you.”

Cloud shrugged. He wasn’t going to reveal that he’d been too nervous to sleep. He’d been reluctant to let Sarah go with Angeal and Zack last night but the little girl had to meet her father at some point. It didn’t mean Cloud had to like it or sleep through it.

He stood up and deposited Sarah on the bed, sitting next to her while the doctor checked his vitals and Sarah’s like she did every morning. Cloud listened as the doctor asked Sarah about her day and the little girl beamed back before launching into a story about Zack showing her videos on his phone.

“What were the videos about?” The doctor asked, an easy smile on her face as she wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Sarah’s arm.

“Touch-me frogs!” Sarah replied. “They touch you an’ they turn you into a frog like them and then you have to use a maiden’s kiss to turn back. Zack says they’re annoying. I think they’re cute.”

Of course she would think that. Cloud had pretended disinterest in Zack’s videos but really he’d been curious about the stories he told Sarah. Omegas couldn’t be in SOLDIER but that didn’t mean Cloud hadn’t once fantasized about being one. Hearing about all the adventures Zack had been on made Cloud’s heart ache with jealousy. Zack was only two years older than Cloud, yet it seemed like he’d accomplished so much – he was a SOLDIER First, student to Commander Hewley, and one of the most well respected SOLDIERs in the program. And Cloud – well Cloud was a knocked up mate-less omega who hated being touched. He was pathetic compared to Zack.

After the doctor finished she pulled up the chair beside Cloud’s bed and said, “I’m going to discharge you two this afternoon. You’re both healthy as can be expected, albeit underweight, but that’s nothing a steady diet won’t fix. The current story has been approved by the PR department and a Turk will be in after breakfast to brief you. After that, General Sephiroth and Commander Hewley will be here to take you to your new home.”

Cloud nodded in mute acceptance. He already knew they weren’t going to let him go home to his mom. He couldn’t because ShinRa didn’t want his story becoming known. Plus there was the tiny complication that was General Sephiroth. Maybe if the alpha didn’t want his pups he would be able to convince them that he wouldn’t tell a soul what had happened to him. Maybe they’d let him go home then and he could be with his mother.

It was worse when the Turk came and gave him the cover story. His daughter was no longer his, but rather belonged to a fictitious beta. He wasn’t Cloud Strife anymore, but Cloud Bennett, a demure, well-bred omega, a member of Midgar’s upper echelons. He had two sisters, alpha Scarlet (older) and omega Indigo (younger). He was no longer Sarah Strife’s son but rather the son of Grace and Maria Bennett, the only man in a family of women. Like a proper omega, he’d mated to General Sephiroth at sixteen and they’d waited several months before Cloud became pregnant. Of course, with the war ending in Wutai, it wasn’t proper or advised to make known that Sephiroth had a mate and as an omega of good breeding he wouldn’t appear much in public to begin with, so Cloud would spend the rest of his pregnancy carefully hidden away until he decided if he wanted to “die” and give up his current life to make a new one – without his daughters – or remain in his arranged mating.

Neither option appealed to Cloud. It was everything his younger self would have hated, being relegated to the role of child bearer. Having his voice literally stolen from him was painful enough – giving it up figuratively was even worse. But the thought of living without his daughter was equally painful. Sarah had always been a bright point since her arrival. Even when the professor did his best to drive them apart, Cloud never stopped loving her.

He was still lost in thought when, just before noon, the door opened again and Angeal entered carrying a duffel bag and followed closely by General Sephiroth. Sarah was coloring on the floor again while Cloud tried and failed to read from the book that Angeal had given him. He liked the story – about an alpha working for a corrupt king who finds redemption by taking care of a little girl whose mother he accidentally murders – but he couldn’t concentrate on it, found himself rereading the same paragraph over and over and not remembering what it was about. His thoughts circled back to his choices. Life in a gilded cage or life without his children. He couldn’t stand either thought.

Cloud closed his book and set it aside as Sarah glanced up from her coloring and took in the newcomers. She cried out happily and scrambled to her feet, latching onto Angeal’s leg before the SOLDIER leaned down and picked her up. “Hey pup,” Angeal greeted with a smile. “You want to meet your daddy?”

Sarah beamed up at him. “Yeah!” She cheered. After just a few days with Zack encouraging her, Sarah was already turning more vibrant and talkative and, with childlike resilience, lost her shyness towards the two SOLDIERs. Sephiroth, however, she regarded warily.

Angeal was a natural with children, an unusual trait for an alpha, but Cloud admired the way he tilted Sarah towards Sephiroth and gently coerced her into waving at him. “This is your daddy, Sephiroth.” Angeal said. “He’s been away fighting a war but now the war is over and you and mama are going to go live with him.”

“Seph’roth.” Sarah repeated solemnly. Cloud couldn’t help but smile at the blank, slightly bewildered look father and daughter were giving each other. Sephiroth looked as uncomfortable with her awake as he had holding her while she was sleeping last night. Was he really sure he wanted the girls? Then, after a moment of staring at him, Sarah held out her arms. “Daddy.”

Oh and that was it. Cloud watched as Sephiroth took Sarah from Angeal and knew it was over for the man. From the look on Sephiroth’s face Cloud knew Sarah had him wrapped tightly around her little fingers. The expression on the general’s face was full-fledged bewilderment now as Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled in close, likely breathing in the smell that would instinctively tell her this was her family.

Cloud didn’t realize he was smiling until Angeal turned to him and dropped the duffel he was carrying on the bed. “Ah yes,” Angeal whispered conspiratorially to Cloud, “The great General Sephiroth, hero of the Wutai War, meets the one enemy he cannot defeat – his own daughter.”

Cloud couldn’t help the choking gasp that caught him by surprise as he doubled over, belly shaking with the force of his laugh and the noises breathless as he covered his mouth to hide them. He didn’t remember the last time he’d laughed – by the look Sarah was giving him, it had been a long enough time that she’d never seen her mother in such a state. Still, he couldn’t force himself to calm down, enjoying the moment too much. When he finally straightened a few seconds later Sephiroth and Sarah were staring at him in concern but Angeal was grinning.

“Well, it’s good to hear you laugh.” Angeal said. He gestured to the duffel bag. “Inside there are your new clothes and a dress for Sarah. Dr. Joyce started on the discharge forms already so you’re good there. Genesis is covering for Sephiroth and I so we both have all day free to help you settle in to Sephiroth’s apartment.”

Cloud nodded, humor fading. He hadn’t left the hospital room for several days, seeing it as just another cell, and soon he’d be relocated to a third, more permanent cell. The apartment would probably be a comfortable place to live, but it would still be a cell. At least they weren’t going to take Sarah away from him. He took the clothes and ducked into the bathroom to change, finding a pair of loose fitting jeans and a long sleeved soft blue shirt that cradled his bump. There were socks and real shoes in the pile, though he fumbled with the laces and scowled at his own clumsiness. When he dressed he took a look in the mirror and frowned at his reflection. He avoided the mirror, generally, because looking at his pale, gaunt cheeks reminded him of how far he was the boy he’d been. At least the color had come back to his face, but his blond hair hung to his back in tangles and ragged, uneven spikes, thin and brittle. Cloud glanced away before he could take in too much more and ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to straighten it.

Back in the hospital room, Sarah was wrapped around Sephiroth, nuzzled against his neck as she idly played with his silver hair the way she did Cloud’s. Sephiroth was watching her, and if Cloud had to guess what he was thinking it’d probably be somewhere along the lines of a bewildered, _this is mine?_

Cloud grinned and held his hands out to take Sarah back. “No!” Sarah protested when Sephiroth tried to disentangle her from his hair, grabbing on and pulling.

Sephiroth winced. Super soldier or no, having your hair pulled _hurt_. “Sarah.” He began in a tone that said _I am very disappointed._ “You need to change clothes.”

“Don’t leave!” Sarah demanded, cuddling back to Sephiroth, and Cloud realized what this was really about. Sephiroth was new, someone who offered comfort to her, and she was afraid of losing him. She’d screamed herself hoarse when Angeal left that first day. Good people didn’t tend to stick around long where the professor was involved. A lab tech would give Sarah a piece of candy only to be fired the next day for it. Good people left Sarah and never came back, except for Cloud. He wished he could explain to her that Sephiroth wasn’t going anywhere, that like Angeal he’d come back to her.

He also wished he could tell Sephiroth to stop trying to get her to let go of him. They could wait for Sarah to calm down.

Thankfully, Angeal came to Cloud’s rescue. “Nobody’s going anywhere, pup. Daddy will stay right here and if you’re good for Mama then Daddy will give you a piggy back ride.”

Sarah and Sephiroth both looked at Angeal like he’d lost his mind. Sarah said, “What’s a piggy back ride?”

At the same time Sephiroth said, “You’re not serious.”

Angeal chuckled. “Think of it as bonding. You missed out on four years, you’ve got to catch up somehow.” At Sephiroth’s raised eyebrow he added, “C’mon, Seph. Some things are more important than your dignity.”

Cloud rolled his eyes at Sephiroth’s disgruntled “Fine.” Although the mental picture of the great General Sephiroth, Cloud’s childhood hero, giving his four-year-old daughter a ride did amuse Cloud, he also couldn’t understand why the man was putting up a fuss about it. He wanted the girls, so he’d have to make some sacrifices for their sakes, and if he was more worried about his dignity than his children’s happiness, then Cloud’s opinion was that Sephiroth needed to seriously reconsider keeping the girls.

After a couple of minutes explaining to Sarah that a piggy back ride was what Zack had given her a few days ago when he hoisted her up on his back, Sarah reluctantly agreed to let go of Sephiroth just long enough for Cloud to set her on the bed and help her change into the purple jumper and pink cardigan with yellow chocobos running around the hem before she reached back out for Sephiroth.

“Ready to see your new home?” Angeal asked Cloud. Reluctantly, Cloud nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I KNOW I've explained this before but for anyone who hasn't heard it, the reason why I always name Cloud's mother Sarah and decided to name his daughter the same way is because Sarah is a recurring character (like Cid) in the Final Fantasy series. It only recently dawned on me that Shera is actually FF7's Sarah, but I call bull because Sara, Sarah, and Serrah are all pronounced the same way; Shera is not. Sometimes she goes by a different name (Garnet in 9 and Faris in 5, for example) but she's always somewhere in the game and she's usually a princess. Queen Jane is a character in the original Final Fantasy, hence why that's Tifa's mom's name (and also because I can't for the life of me remember Princess Sarah's sister's name).
> 
> Also, all the internet cookies to whoever can figure out where the story Cloud's reading comes from. (Hint: you have to be really familiar with old Square titles)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sephiroth doesn't know the first thing about children, and Genesis tells Angeal the news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally just finished this chapter. Haven't even given it a read through but, you know, YOLO.
> 
> 1) As I said on my writing blog, I was in the hospital last week from Wednesday until this last Monday and, upon being discharged, was oh so nicely told that I wasn't welcome where I was staying anymore. So I've been sleeping on my friend's couch until yesterday when I moved into my new apartment. Kitta is coming to live with me in July so I had to get my own place anyway. 
> 
> 2) Also on my writing blog, I live in the central Florida area, about an hour from Orlando. I lost no one I knew, thankfully, but I did lose people I knew in passing and through friends of friends. I'm still a little bit in shock from the news, and it hasn't actually hit home quite yet, despite it nearly being a week now since the shooting. Everything crazy that's happened to me this week has left me reeling and it's definitely affected my writing. So I do apologize for the lateness (geez, nearly three weeks) of this chapter.
> 
> 3) Ya'll rock so much, by the way. I LOVE the discussion I'm having with several of you in the comments about diversity, difficult subject matters, and disabled characters. You guys are the reason I love to write fanfiction so much!
> 
> 4) I did a lot of research on vocal cord paralysis for this chapter and on the voice box in general. You'll not see any of it, however, because I decided that what Hojo did is actually some hybrid of vocal cord paralysis and a permanent silence spell. Creative License: Medicine.

Sephiroth had carried wounded men on his back in Wutai, usually infantry who did not carry materia and for whom potions were often times scarce. Once he’d carried an unconscious Genesis two miles back to camp when the man was injured by an IED to the point where his body was working overtime healing itself and Sephiroth was already suffering from mild mana exhaustion. That had been a tense day for him, and he honestly remembered fearing, for perhaps the first time, that he might lose his friend. Carrying Sarah, then, had less to do with concerns about his dignity as it did with the association of carrying someone with them being injured. Sarah was perfectly healthy. Underweight, according to the doctor, but healthy enough to walk by herself. Why, then, did she insist on being carried? Was she secretly unwell? Was she being lazy? Was Sephiroth encouraging bad behavior? He didn’t know.

Sephiroth was not a fan of being without proper intelligence. Too often it’d been a matter of flying blind and making up orders without a good idea if he was sending his men to their deaths or if he was working to prevent their own deaths. And, to be honest, raising another human being was just as important as keeping his men alive, because if she didn’t turn out like she was supposed to then it would be Sephiroth’s fault. So Sephiroth, reluctantly, took his cues from Cloud and Angeal. Angeal seemed to know a lot about children, and Cloud was Sarah’s mother. Plus, Sephiroth had to admit, it was nice being the reason why someone smiled, so if it made Sarah happy to be carried then he would do it.

The walk to the floors where various executives, Senior Turks, and high ranking SOLDIERs had their apartments was otherwise uneventful. Cloud stayed closer to Angeal, but still put a good distance between them, and glanced back at Sephiroth and Sarah frequently, smiling every time he saw Sarah clinging to Sephiroth like a barnacle. There were a few people out and about at this time of day, including a pair of SOLDIER Seconds who looked like they desperately wanted to ask their General what he had hanging off his back even as they greeted Angeal amicably and chatted with him on the elevator ride to their floor.

Sephiroth’s apartment was one of eight on the floor, at the very end next to Lazard and across the hall from Angeal and Genesis’s shared apartment. The three of them lived in each other’s pockets most of the time, but it was nice to have space to himself. Now, he was grateful that extra space could be used to help his daughter and Cloud. Over the last week, Angeal had made some changes to Sephiroth’s guest bedroom. Sephiroth had taken a peek at it last night but was honestly too tired to care except to hope that Cloud and Sarah would like it. Stepping into the apartment with its open kitchen and living area overlooking the Midgar skyline, Cloud gasped and Sarah pulled on Sephiroth’s hair as she looked around her surroundings wide eyed.

Sephiroth was an economical man by raising and lifestyle, but the apartment had been the result of the resident interior designer and thus minimal, modern, and tasteful – very little color, bold lines, and sleek, shiny surfaces. Angeal hung back by the door as Sephiroth set Sarah down and the little girl grabbed Cloud’s hand, following him around the room. Cloud immediately stepped over to the far wall where large bay windows overlooked Midgar. It was raining today, streaking the glass, and the gray over a gray city seemed solemn to Sephiroth, but soothing.

Sarah stood up on her tiptoes to look out the window, seemed unimpressed with the rain, and tugged on Cloud’s hand. “Mama, let’s go see the rest of the cell.”

“It’s called an apartment, Sarah, not a cell.” Sephiroth found himself correcting just as Angeal was opening his mouth to say something.

“Oh, why?” It took Sephiroth a moment to figure out what Sarah meant, long enough that Cloud reluctantly left the window and let Sarah tug him along. She toddled back over to Sephiroth.

Sephiroth had been seventeen when he returned home from Wutai the first time to discover he’d been moved out of the labs and into this apartment, as befitted his new rank as a SOLDIER First. Like Sarah, he’d thought it another cell and his confinement self-induced. It wasn’t until Angeal and Genesis moved in across the hallway three months later that Sephiroth even began to realize the newfound freedom he had. So he shared what Genesis had told him when he realized that Sephiroth saw his home as a prison. “There’s no lock on the door.” He said. “With your mother you can go anywhere you please. No one’s going to stop you. An apartment is a home.”

Sarah opened her mouth to say something before deciding not to and closing it again. Still clinging to Cloud she held out her free hand to Sephiroth, who took it after staring at it for a moment. She was so small, her hands and her tiny little fingers wrapped easily around his index finger. This little girl was fragile and Sephiroth suddenly realized that she was _his_. He’d always belonged to other people – to Hojo, to the President, to Angeal and Genesis – but Sarah belonged to him and he would do anything to keep her safe.

Realizing he was staring only when Angeal cleared his throat, Sephiroth mentally shook himself free of his thoughts and ignored Cloud’s openly curious gaze. “Let me show you your bedroom.” He said, and led the way to the short hallway past the kitchen where three doors converged on the same spot. To the left, behind the kitchen, was Sarah’s new room, Sephiroth’s horrendously underused guest bedroom. The bed had been dismantled and removed, and the room changed into a sort of nursery/children’s playroom. There was a trundle bed against the far wall and a crib for when the baby came. Next to the window was a rocking chair and changing table, all in sleek black with white accents to fit Sephiroth’s décor. The bedsheets at least, were a pale pastel purple and there were several stuffed animals on the bed, adding color to the colorless room.

Sarah let go of her parents and wandered around the room, touching everything and opening doors and drawers before finally climbing up on the bed and holding up one of the stuffed animals, a white creature with a round red nose, purple wings, and puff ball over its head. “What’s this?” She asked, holding up the toy for them to see.

Cloud smiled at it and sat down on the bed next to Sarah, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as he gently took the toy from her and used it to bop her on the nose. Sarah giggled and grabbed one of the other toys – a yellow chocobo wearing the uniform of a SOLDIER First. Angeal had followed them into the bedroom so Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at him in question. Where on the Planet did he find that thing? Angeal looked vaguely smug in return.

When he looked back over at Sarah and Cloud, Sarah was piling all her toys in Cloud’s lap. The teenager had slipped out of his shoes and was sitting cross leg on the bed, the white doll with the red nose cradled in his arms. Curiously, Sephiroth asked her, “Is there any particular reason you’re doing that?” He asked, gesturing to the toys. Was this something normal for a child or was there a problem?

Sarah nodded. “So the bad doctor doesn’t take them away.” She said. “Mama has to hide them because my hiding places suck.”

Sephiroth knelt down next to the bed so he was face to face with Sarah, ignoring the way Cloud flinched away from him and scooted closer to the wall. “Sarah, nobody is going to take your toys away.” Sephiroth said seriously. “This is your home.”

Sarah ignored him in favor of adding to her growing pile. “One time someone told the doctor that they’d take his toys away from him an’ he meant Mama and me.” Then she looked at Sephiroth and asked. “Did you take us away from the doctor? Does that make us your toys?”

Sephiroth heard Cloud’s sharp intake of breath and once again cursed Hojo for stealing Cloud’s voice from him, if only because Cloud couldn’t possibly explain to his daughter what was happening around her. “No Sarah.” Sephiroth said, glancing back at Angeal for some assistance. Angeal shrugged and motioned for Sephiroth to answer the question. Useless. “You’re a girl, a human, and human beings aren’t toys.” Never mind that, if Sephiroth were being honest, Sarah was only partially human in much the same way that Sephiroth himself wasn’t quite human either. Still, the little girl didn’t need to know that yet. It would only give her a complex.

Still, he didn’t know how to explain things any better than that. It was a weak excuse and he knew it, but on the other hand he knew from Angeal and Genesis’s patience and friendship that whether he was human or not did not matter in the end, he still deserved to be treated with respect and dignity.

(He believed, wholeheartedly, that Sarah deserved that, but sometimes it took more convincing to believe in that for himself.)

Sephiroth shook himself from his thoughts when he noticed Sarah and Cloud watching him. Cloud with a measured sort of caution, and Sarah with open confusion. “Will the doctor come back?” She asked. “I don’t want him to take me away again! You hafta not let him.”

“I will.” Sephiroth assured her easily. “Professor Hojo is dead. That means he won’t take you away, but I won’t let anyone take you away from me, and nobody will take anything away from you.”

With the wariness of a child who’d been lied to before but still wanted to believe in the best of people, Sarah nodded and grabbed one of her toys out of Cloud’s lap, a cactaur doll, and set it back on the bed beside her. The rest of the toys followed, except for the chocobo, which she clung to with one hand as she slipped off the bed and grabbed Cloud, pulling him after her. Sephiroth stepped away to give them space and looked at Angeal, seeing the man watching the three of them from the doorway.

“What do you say to something like that?” Sephiroth asked Angeal, leading him into the hall to give Cloud and Sarah space. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the two of them were kneeling by the bed, and watched as both the doll Cloud was holding and Sarah’s chocobo were sequestered away in the space between the headboard and the wall.

“They’ve both been through a lot.” Angeal pointed out. “They won’t heal in a day. Do you remember what it was like when you were sent to Wutai that first time?”

Sephiroth did. He’d been fifteen and overwhelmed by the outside world, the chaos of it all without the careful rules and boundaries he’d grown around. He’d been briefed, though, on what to expect and the military had offered the same structure and hierarchy as the labs, the familiarity of it all a guide through the chaos of the rest. Even then, he’d known that the rest of the world didn’t operate the way his tiny, isolated world did, so he’d known not to approach it the same way. Sarah didn’t know any better. “I was much better prepared for the world than Sarah is.” He pointed out.

Angeal nodded. “Perhaps, but you were still thrown into a life you’d never experienced and told to make do. I remember having to drag you out of your apartment to do recreational things that didn’t involve slaughtering helpless monsters. Your job as her father is to guide her through the confusion and introduce her to the world so that she doesn’t grow up to be completely lost in it.”

The _like you_ hung silent in the air between them.

“I want her.” Sephiroth admitted quietly. “Given the choice, I’d never choose to have children of my own, but since she exists I want to take care of her.”

“But?” Angeal prompted.

“Perhaps she’s better off with someone who can give her a normal childhood. Someone who _had_ a normal childhood.”

Angeal didn’t respond immediately, looking pensive as he regarded Sephiroth. “It’s not normalcy that children need. It’s stability and love, both of which you can provide. There’s no instruction manual for raising children, and no right or wrong way to do it. Well, there’s Hojo’s method, of course, which you already know is a terrible way to raise a child so there you go. You’re already doing better than your own father.”

Well, there was that at least. If nothing else Sephiroth knew what _not_ to do.

*~*~*

It was an exhausting day and long before dinner Cloud was ready to go back to bed. Instead he marveled at the apartment he and Sarah had found themselves in. It was two bedrooms and spacious enough to fit all of Cloud’s house inside it, certainly much larger than the tiny cell he and Sarah had occupied for years. Sarah’s room was too somber for a child but Cloud knew they could change that. Soon enough she’d be stringing toys from one end to the other and her artwork would decorate the walls. The thought made Cloud feel warm inside, a fluttering feeling in his stomach that he knew wasn’t _just_ the baby kicking.

After listening to Sephiroth’s admittedly weak reassurances to Sarah, Cloud had privately rolled his eyes at the man, knowing that as much as Sarah wanted to trust her father she wouldn’t feel safe for a long time to come. So he’d done what he could to reassure her by helping her hide the moogle and the chocobo behind the bed, but left the rest of the toys in plain sight on the bed. Maybe if she saw that the rest of her toys weren’t going to go missing she’d believe she didn’t have to hide her belongings, but Cloud wasn’t going to leave her with that fear and half-hearted reassurances.

He could hear Angeal and Sephiroth talking in the hallway, but their voices were low enough he couldn’t make out the words. Instead Cloud busied himself by playing with Sarah, who was making up stories about her stuffed toys, giving them names in lieu of knowing what they were. The cactaur became Mr. Green while the Nibel Wolf was Fuzzbutt. The touch-me frog got the most attention, because Sarah at least recognized that while the Tonberry (complete with felt knife) was immediately chucked into the corner between the dresser and the bed. Knives and Sarah did not get along, and Cloud cursed whoever had thought giving a toy Tonberry to a traumatized child was a good idea. Then, at the realization that it was probably either Angeal or Zack, he let go of some of that irritation. They were trying their best and they’d done so much for the two of them already.

An hour or so later Cloud set Sarah down for a nap, tucking the Nibel Wolf and touch-me frog in beside her before turning out the lights and leaving her be. Angeal was nowhere to be found but Sephiroth was in the kitchen chopping vegetables. The smell of spices and cooking rice filled the apartment. After bland hospital food and whatever the professor had deigned to consider food, the smell of real food made Cloud’s mouth water.

Sephiroth glanced up at him and Cloud was surprised at how… normal… the man seemed. Maybe that wasn’t the right word, but it was strange to consider his childhood hero in this light. He’d changed clothes while Cloud was playing with Sarah. Instead of his uniform he was wearing black denim and a long sleeved dark blue shirt. His silver hair was tied up in a high ponytail, bangs still framing his face. Sarah’s hair was wild and curly like her grandmother’s, but she had Sephiroth’s narrow face and aquiline features. Cloud had always seen Sephiroth as someone untouchable, someone who didn’t actually exist outside of the public perception.

“Is there something you need?” Sephiroth asked, the picture of the gracious host. Cloud shook his head. Sephiroth set aside the knife and moved to the dining room table, Cloud following after. He picked up a small whiteboard from the table and handed it to Cloud, along with a satchel of markers. “Angeal left these for you. The Turks are working on finding a sign language teacher for us and a tutor for Sarah, but in the meantime he said this is how you’ve been communicating.”

Cloud accepted the gifts with a nod as Sephiroth returned to what he’d been doing. There was a barstool at the island which Cloud slid into so he could watch Sephiroth work. In careful letters he wrote; _What does Sarah need a tutor for?_ He slid the whiteboard across the counter and waited for Sephiroth to look up long enough to read it.

“The psychologist that evaluated Sarah is concerned that she hasn’t hit her developmental milestones yet.” Sephiroth explained simply. “It would be good for her to catch up to children her own age.” He paused and went back to chopping and Cloud began writing his next question down before Sephiroth added. “I missed most of mine too. The professor was not happy to learn that children do not, in fact, learn to read on their own. It seems he never did quite figure that one out.” He smiled at Cloud, a tiny upturn of his mouth that belayed a dry, almost morbid sense of humor, and Cloud found himself smiling back.

Cloud erased his question. _Thank you._ He wrote instead.

“For what?” Sephiroth asked.

_For letting me stay. For not taking Sarah from me._

“I very much doubt you’d let anyone take Sarah from you.” Sephiroth pointed out. “I don’t want to let her go, but I don’t want to take her from you. I’m hoping we can work something out.”

_Joint custody of a child neither of us wanted?_ Cloud wrote, tamping down his annoyance. Sephiroth hadn’t been there, hadn’t carried her in his body for nine months and given birth to her, hadn’t raised her and feared she’d never learn to speak, only to be dismayed when he wasn’t there for her first words, had instead been writhing through another one of those awful heats on a cold steel operating table. Sephiroth hadn’t loved her from the moment she was born and Cloud held her for the first time several days later. And yet, he still somehow felt he was entitled to Sarah. Why? Because he was her sperm donor and everyone around him kept insisting that made him a father?

It wasn’t fair but Cloud didn’t care about fairness. He was free of the labs and the professor but he was still being jerked around by everyone around him. He couldn’t be Cloud Strife any longer because then ShinRa would have to admit they’d kidnapped him and Sarah couldn’t be Sarah Strife because then they’d have to admit that they’d kidnapped him _and_ impregnated him at thirteen. Cloud didn’t care about the PR disaster any of that would cause, the outrage that would no doubt be short lived and easily forgotten.

Sephiroth didn’t deserve Sarah or the baby, but he was going to get both of them either way because the world seemed to have conspired against Cloud and all Cloud could do was deal with it.

At that realization Cloud found himself blinking back tears. _It’s just hormones, you nitwit._ He yelled at himself internally, abandoning the white board and stalking off to the living room to curl up in the corner of the couch, knees pulled to his chest and face buried in his arms. Planet, it wasn’t fair! It wasn’t fair at all. The whole planet had been conspiring against him ever since he’d presented and it felt like and this was just the latest insult in a long stream.

He wasn’t sure how long he spent sulking on the couch sniffling back tears. Long enough that he gave up trying to rationalize his feelings. He was being dramatic. Maybe he’d feel better in the morning. He was watching the rain fall against the window panes through bleary eyes when he heard the crash of a slamming door and startled. It came from outside the apartment but not by far, close enough that when Cloud spun around to look back towards the entrance to the apartment, Sephiroth was moving to open the door. Cloud’s instincts told him to get _away_ from the source of the noise, so he debated between moving from the relative safety of the couch and going back to Sarah’s room and locking the door. A door would stop precisely no one from getting in the room, but it would make him feel better.

He was still in the middle of that debate when Sephiroth opened up the door just in time for an unfamiliar voice to say, “Don’t walk away from me!”

By the lack of response and the ding of the elevator down the hall, it sounded like whoever was being spoken to didn’t listen.

Sephiroth said, “Another fight? What happened this time.”

“He’s supposed to be happy, not angry!”

“You told him about the baby?” Sephiroth asked. He took a step back into the apartment, allowing a man in a red leather jacket to step past him. He was only a little taller than Cloud with fire red hair cropped around his shoulders but he carried himself like an alpha in his own territory. He scowled at Cloud and Cloud quickly ducked back onto the couch, hiding from him.

“Yes, I told him about the baby. He was supposed to be happy but, my friend, the fates are indeed cruel. He said something about needing air and stormed off.” The red-haired man said. They came around the corner of the couch into the living area where Cloud was curled up and Cloud debated again whether to make a break for Sarah’s room and leave these two alpha SOLDIERs to talk. Instead he stayed where he was as Sephiroth sat down next to him, giving him enough room to remain in his curled position. The redhead sat down across from them on one of the two chairs. “He was so upset about the last child. I thought for sure this would make him happy.”

Sephiroth nodded. “It may be that he is happy. Angeal is… stoic.”

The redhead rolled his eyes, mako blue of course. “Compared to you? You’re right that he’s not very expressive but he usually talks to me. He’s the rock in our relationship. I expected him to be delighted, to jump for joy… not to storm off in a huff.”

Something about this conversation wasn’t making sense. Angeal had mentioned he had a mate once or twice and of course Cloud had assumed from the “he” pronouns that Angeal’s mate was an omega. Of course, omegas couldn’t join SOLDIER – it wasn’t their place to do so, after all. So who was this SOLDIER across from him who talked about Angeal and babies in a way that made Cloud think he was more than just a friend?

Sephiroth was quiet for a few moments before he said, “I cannot fathom what Angeal is thinking, but I believe that he may be feeling overwhelmed by the news. Parenthood is… quite the surprise.”

“I know.” The other man snapped. He took a deep breath. “I found out before we were supposed to leave for Wutai. My magic was off, materia responding too strongly or too weakly when I used it, which happened the last time so I went to medical and they did the test, they also scanned me to confirm it. I won’t lie and say I didn’t think about getting rid of it. I love my career, I love SOLDIER. But I love Angeal too and everything that’s his. We were blessed by the goddess not once but twice and I thought… I thought this time it would be all right in the end. I didn’t expect this.”

Sephiroth said, “You know better than to expect absolutes from me, but I believe that it will be, as you say, all right in the end. Genesis, Angeal looks at you like the stars could come crashing down and he wouldn’t care as long as you were there.” It seemed unusually poetic, but then what did Cloud know about Sephiroth? Really knew, that is, like he knew his mother and not like he’d collected stats like trading cards. Nothing, just about, except that he wore casual clothes when he wasn’t working, really wanted Cloud’s children apparently, and that he seemed to be able to wax poetic when he wanted to, at least when it came to his friends.

On the other hand, Cloud turned his attention to the redhead, Genesis. An omega. In SOLDIER. A mated omega even. Commander Hewley’s mate and if Cloud was remembering names he’d heard once or twice, this was Genesis Rhapsodos, the primary military commander of the Wutai War. Cloud once again cursed the professor in his head for cutting into his throat like that and paralyzing his vocal cords. He wanted to ask the man in front of him if he really was _the_ Genesis Rhapsodos, and was he really an omega?

Cloud uncurled from himself and straightened on the couch, fear forgotten as he regarded Genesis. The commander turned his attention to Cloud, noticing the shift, and even Sephiroth glanced over at Cloud. Then Genesis smiled at him, to Cloud’s surprise. “You’re looking better today, Cloud.” Cloud ducked his head shyly and Genesis turned back to Sephiroth. “I know how Angeal feels about me. Thank the Planet I’ve never doubted, no matter how much we fight, that he loves me.”

“I doubt that.” Sephiroth said and stood up. “I understand what you intend and as I said, I believe that all will work itself out. Now, I must get back to dinner. You are welcome to join us, Genesis, if only because I’m afraid I don’t know what a normal appetite is like so I may have made too much.”

He left the living room and returned to the kitchen. Cloud sat on the couch and watched Genesis. Genesis watched him back for several minutes before he said. “You need to gain weight.”

Cloud almost rolled his eyes. So the doctor had said. Repeatedly. Before trying to force nasty tasting nutritional shakes down his throat. Cloud even suspected there were a couple in the fridge in the apartment. Yes, he had a bump and a second life form to feed in his belly, and yes, he needed more food to keep that baby from being born as small and sickly as Sarah had been, but he also didn’t need everyone trying to shove food down his throat. Cloud shook his head and sighed deeply.

“Tired of everyone pointing out how tiny you are?” Genesis asked, and Cloud wondered at his perception. He nodded. “Well, you are small. Skinny, short, underweight. It’s a wonder you carried one child to term.”

From the kitchen, Sephiroth said, “Quit antagonizing him.”

Genesis huffed. “I’m concerned for him. Someone should be.”

_Someone is._ Cloud thought, annoyed. _I am concerned for me._ He didn’t need a stranger looking after him, especially an apparent omega who smelled like… nothing. Genesis didn’t have a scent about him. Oh well, Cloud didn’t care. When Sephiroth called for dinner he stalked off towards Sarah’s room to wake the girl for food. Who cared about any of them.

It was the same moody and foul temper that followed him through dinner, abated only by Sarah’s antics and frequent questions. She ate about as unenthusiastically as Cloud, at first, but upon realizing that the food was actually pretty good and not the terribly bland nutrient bars of the lab or mush the hospital called food she ate eagerly. It was a stir fry of some sort without any apparent meat in it but the vegetables were fresh and crisp and there was a sweetness to the rice. It was delicious, but Cloud couldn’t help but pick at his food, appetite gone. Sarah held up every piece of vegetable with a curious “What’s this?” and Sephiroth patiently explained carrots and peas and baby corn to the little girl.

“Is it a baby because it was born from a bigger corn?” Sarah asked, looking reluctant to eat the young offspring of a helpless vegetable.

Sephiroth looked perplexed, and that was almost enough to get a smile out of Cloud, seeing how confused the man looked when it came to Sarah. “No.” Was that a question Cloud detected in the great General’s voice? “It is merely a smaller breed of corn.”

The only thing more amusing than watching Sephiroth stumble through parenthood was watching the way that Genesis flinched every time Sarah held up a vegetable. For an omega who was due to have a child in seven and half months he sure didn’t seem to know much about them, or even particularly like them. Only the thought of Angeal’s patience with Sarah and even temper kept Cloud from despairing for that poor child.

Dinner was wrapping up. Genesis and Sephiroth had finished their food, which was quite a bit as it turned out, Cloud was still pushing around food on a half full plate, much to Sephiroth’s apparent annoyance, and Sarah’s smaller portion was gone save for a few peas that she had loudly declared “gross.” Sephiroth was clearing the table when there was a knock on the door. Genesis was the one to open it to reveal a drenched Angeal looking mildly out of breath.

Angeal wrapped his arms around his mate and pulled him close. “We’re going to have to turn the guest room into a nursery.” Angeal said.

Genesis smiled slowly and pulled away just enough to kiss Angeal. “No.” He said simply. “ _You’re_ going to have to turn the guest room into a nursery. I’m indisposed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be perfectly honest -- no update for at least a week because I'm gonna be playing KHUX. All quests are currently 1 AP, which basically means you can play unlimited for the next week. Remember, you can come join in the fun by sending me your player ID and I'll add you to our party. Also -- if you're a PC user/don't have a smart phone or tablet, you might be able to get KHUX through bluestacks or another android emulator.
> 
> (Also, I love you guys. I really do. Thanks so much for reading!)

**Author's Note:**

> As always, you can find me losing my mind on [tumblr](http://lockea.tumblr.com). Or check out my [writing blog](http://storytellerlockea.tumblr.com) for my ask box, message system, and extra content.


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